Birchbox Goes Brick-and-Mortar in NYC

Digital beauty subscription service Birchbox, which lets users test drive samples of high-end cosmetics for each month before settling on their favorite brands, will soon be able to connect with their customers IRL (in real life).

Co-founders and CEOs Hayley Barna and Katia Beauchamp told The New York Times that they plan to open up a brick-and-mortar store later this spring in New York City's SoHo neighborhood.

The company has organized several pop-up stores in New York in the past, setting up shop in places like Chelsea Market and Story, a retail space that has a revolving door of exhibitions similar to a gallery.

The 4,500-square-foot space will house 2,000 products from as many as 250 brands. Customers will also be able to assemble samples to build their own Birchbox -- B.Y.O.B -- for $15. The company's online subscriber base, (800,000 and counting) have monthly boxes sent to their homes for $10. There will also be touch screens throughout the store so customers can have access to online reviews, and a floor dedicated to how-to beauty tutorials.

While Barna and Beauchamp do not expect the store to be a profit center in the near future Beauchamp said to the Times, “we like the idea of building a store along with the business.”

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